Christmas MeMe, come play with me

Here it is Marcia, this was fun.

Christmas MeMe, come play with me!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Both

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?White!!

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, but we should!

5. When do you put your decorations up? The week after Thanksgiving

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Dressing, crispy not mushy

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Coming to Fort Worth and visiting all my crazy relatives, staying up late and then waking up the next morning to a pile of people laying all over the floor and you could walk without stepping on someone. Family!! Gotta love um!

8. How and When did you learn the truth about Santa? Whats the truth? I love Santa, he is awesome.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Always, it is the Malone(my dad's family) tradition.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? With all the decorations our parents have given us and the children throughout the years

11.Snow, Love it or Dread it? Love it! But not ice. I love the Colorado type snow and only for a few days, I am more of a green grass girl!

12. Can you ice skate? No, I wish I could.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I love them all!

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Celebrating Jesus birth. Spending time with my awesome family!!

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Pistachio dessert that my mom makes. Once my cousin Paula and I took the whole dessert to the car when we were at my grandmas house and we ate the whole thing. We were so sick, but it was so yummy!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Playing who got the nut at Christmas breakfast so that we can see who opens the first gift and working the Christmas puzzle on the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

17. What tops your tree? A beautiful angel

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Both

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Silent Night by Aaron Neville

Doctor Day UGH

Today was the dreaded annual check up visit. The day all girls dread. In fact I do not know anyone who actually enjoys it. But yippee!! It is over. The report was good so far. Just have to wait for the test results. And I actually lost 5 pounds since last years annual. If I can do the same before nest years visit I will be real close to my goal weight. The weight I want to stay for the rest of my life. HA! I love being 40. Such freedom.
Anyway, after the doc visit I decided to celebrate and I went to the mall to buy me some winter clothes. There is a cold front coming thru, the first freeze of the year, so of course I needed some NEW winter threads. It was fun, there is just one item that I got the wrong size in and will have to exchange (which will probably cause me to buy something else while I am there).
It is downright hot and humid out there today. The cold front doesn't arrive until Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, but I am preparing for it and sad that all the beautiful flowers that are blooming in the garden will be gone by Friday. I am going to take some pix and maybe cut a few roses.
I actually hung the wreaths by on the front of the house by myself this year. With the new ribbons they look spectacular. Now I just need a couple of the electric candlesticks for the 2nd story windows. The tree is up but not decorated. I received my first Christmas card today from my dear friend Caren, boy she is on the ball.

More fun pictures from our trip

Family Shot

Scary Baylee in the bamboo!
Scary Spider in Bamboo
Fall Reflection

Thanksgiving Trip

We had a good trip to visit Ben in Houston. Baylee had to go shopping some and found a few good deals. We ate at the Cracker Barrel on Thanksgiving Day and it was nice. Roby fixed a few broken things in Ben's apartment and we both did a little cleaning. We went to see the movie Dejavu and it was good. We also managed to hike around at the Mercer Arboretum in Spring. Roby stopped on the side of the road and we picked up some pine cones for the front porch. My goodness they do have a lot of pine trees. It is strange to be right there by that huge city and yet step into the forest and it feels like you are a million miles from nowhere. It was awesome. I was exhausted after the drive home and crashed in bed until morning.

Mom's Birthday Party

We celebrated my mothers birthday this weekend. It was nice. We ate dinner at the new Steak and Shake in Lake Worth. The food and atmosphere was good. Ben came up from Houston and we were all excited to see him. Kylee and Luke had a great time as well. Overall it was a nice party. I wished it could have lasted longer but things come up. Baylee enjoyed playing with her cousins. The cake was so scrumptious. I just love Creme de la Creme. The fruit was so juicy and fresh.

Thanksgiving is this week and we are going to go to Houston and see Ben. I worked all day today at the candle store so I am exhausted even though it was nice to be occupied. My mind was full of delicious scents.

Work and Frustrations!!

Well, all that I have been doing is working and sleeping. How did my life get this way? I don't know. However, it is nice to have my days filled when life is so out of whack! But it will be great to have part of Thanksgiving week off. I am excited that we will be visiting Ben in Houston for Thanksgiving since he will be working on black friday this year. I am missing him more and more as time passes.
I do not know what to think about this cold weather. So sudden! I am going to curl up tonight in my blanket and watch some great television (I hope). I love The Office and Survivor.

I leave you with words from Tom Spencer, he describes how I feel at this moment in my life.
"I have found no discernable path out of grief. With every step, the way either opens, or is obscured. There is no predictable pattern, just the randomness of the everyday mixed with a sense of being lost."
I do not know what I am supposed to be doing. I have prayed, studied, discussed, meditated, gotten furiously angry, cried my eyes out, thrown my hands up, dug in the dirt, worked til exhaustion, cried some more, researched, talked til it hurts to talk, and I still don't know what I am supposed to be doing. I need to do more! How can I help someone who refuses help? How can I protect someone when someone stands in the way? I feel helpless, I need more education, more direction, I need something! BUT WHAT!

Look what I grew!

It was a beautiful morning. So after I returned from taking Baylee to school, the great outdoors called me. I decided to work on the side bed by the driveway. The potato vine was looking a little rough and it was time for it to go bye bye for the season. So I pulled it up and threw it over the side of the cliff. When I went back to spread out the dirt evenly I noticed a large purplish bulblike thing bulging from the ground. Here is a picture of it. It must have come from my potato vine, I guess I grew a potato the size of a cantalope. Haha! so funny looking. Anyway, I am not sure what to do with it. I wonder if I can store it for the winter and then plant it next year and get a potato vine. I am going to do some research and find out. Hot afternoon!

Pink Cosmos

I just love this view of my cosmos. They look like butterflies from my living room window. Yesterdays rain really helped the garden. Everything looks alive and happy. The colors are so vivid. What a beautiful fall day we have had today. The trees are beginning to change colors too. I hope we don't get a freeze anytime soon, I can't bear to see all the gorgeous fall blooms come to an end. I even have a daisy blooming today. Weatherman says it will be in the 80's for the next couple of days. I am going to try and make it to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens this week and see if the Japanese Maples are changing color. This is such an exciting time of the year with Christmas just around the corner. I love it. I am shopping for our new Christmas tree. There are so many to choose from. I think I like the fir tree the best.

Saturday

I awoke so early all this week and was hoping for some extra rest since it is Saturday. Well, not my luck. I was bright eyed at 5am. Up to make coffee, and read the paper. Boswell lost the game. So sorry for those guys, I know they so wanted another win. Next week, big game, the first time ever, Boswell and Saginaw play. I hear it is gonna be standing room only.
I decided to do some laundry and then braved the great outdoors. It was quite nippy outside, but the lawn was in great need of a good mowing. Hopefully, the last mowing of the season. Ha! Wishful thinking, if this weather continues we will be mowing until January. It took forever to mow and blow, next year I need more flowers for sure. They are much less maintenance. The cosmos are absolutely gorgeous. And my mum gets more beautiful every day. I even had a Zephrine rose blooming on the arbor. I would like to cut down my lantanas to the ground but I am holding out for now. The ground is so dry, we need rain.
After I dropped Baylee off at her friends house, I went by to see mom at her garage sale. She had her first sale by herself today and made a killing. I am so glad for her because I didn't see much but it turned out to be a bundle. Goody!!! After she closed the sale at 2 we waited for Kylee and Luke, that never happened, the visit was cancelled after we waited 2 hours Kylee called and told us she couldn't come, her Daddy had to go somewhere. Bummer!! This is getting old. Anyways, so then mom and I watched a little tivo, Oprah, yipppee! It was doctor Oz. I like him, he taught us a lot. I want his book!
Then I left and Baylee called and wanted food. So I stopped at the Texas Pit (YUMYUM) and got us both a sliced brisket sandwich. More laundry. Check email. Remember Richie's Reception Jan 6. Work on Puzzle. Called and checked on Ben. He was having fun and too busy for me so he will call me back. Ha! I am reading a book I got from mom at the garage sale and I love it. It is about Lillian Carter spending time in the Peace Corps at the age of 67. What a lady! I love the book. It is a journal and letters from the time she spent in India in the middle 1960's. Away from Home: Letter to my family. So far it is wonderful. I think after this update, I am off to read again.
I just love relaxing on Saturday.